Poway Fire Department to add two engines

POWAY  Two new fire engines, complete with 500-gallon water tanks, 1,500 gallon-per-minute pumps and firefighting foam, are expected to replace a pair of old engines in November.

The new trucks will replace most of Poway’s day-to-day three-engine fleet. The fire department also has two ambulances, a ladder truck and two fire engines that sit at the stations in reserve for emergencies.

The outgoing vehicles have been in service for more than 15 years, a news release said. The new engines were bought from a Wisconsin manufacturing company this year for $525,000 each.

One engine is being outfitted with equipment, and is expected to be ready by early November. It will be based at Fire Station 1 on Community Road.

The second is expected to be ready by Thanksgiving weekend. It will be placed at Station 3 on Pomerado Road.

The fire department budgeted $25,000 to outfit each engine.

They will be equipped with radio gear, mapping tools, breathing apparatus, medical treatment devices, hoses, nozzles and rope rescue equipment.

The new vehicles run more efficiently than the older trucks, Division Chief Jon Canavan said.

“Fifteen years ago the standards for emissions were far less stringent than they are today,” Canavan said. The new engines have the latest emission control technology, he said.